The present invention relates to a device in load carrier for vehicles, said load carrier intended for roof-mounting and comprising support members intended to rest against the upper face of the vehicle roof close to the edge thereof, a sheet-metal gripping member disposed in the support member to grip the edge portion of the vehicle roof, and a means arranged to lock the support member and the gripping member in a position, in which said means grippingly engages the associated roof edge portion.
Traditionally, a load carrier of the kind outlined above has been of a rather simple construction. It has been possible to attach it to the vehicle drop edge or to grooves formed in the vehicle roof or around the top piece of the door frame to be automatically fastened to the vehicle as the door is being shut. Previously, load carriers could be transferred to and be used together with vehicles of different models, thanks to the similarity of construction of the vehicles. A load carrier of this kind is described in Patent Specification SE 512 302.
In contrast hereto, the trend today is to design to an increasing extent load carriers with features that are specific to the individual car manufacturer and sometimes even to each individual vehicle model. The reason is primarily that the design of a vehicle today constitutes a highly important factor of success and in consequence thereof, every vehicle model is designed more and more with features that are unique to that vehicle. This affects also the design of the load carriers. Therefore, a change of car might also necessitate a change of load carrier. When the load carrier is of the kind outlined in the introduction, the geometry of the support member must be adapted to fit the shape of the roof edge and the profile of the top piece of the door frame of the associated vehicle. The load-carrier manufacturers have to co-operate closely with the car manufacturers in order to be able to supply the correct type of support members with their associated grip members for all new car models that appear on the market. It may be necessary not only that the support members to be mounted on the right and the left side of the vehicle be different but also the support members of the front and the rear load carrier, because of the curvature of the vehicle roof or the design of other details in the area of the points of attachment of the support members to the vehicle.
Considering the frequent changes of models, this becomes expensive in the long run and the present invention has for its object to provide a device in a load carrier which is intended to be mounted on the roof of a vehicle and which may be mounted on vehicles of a large variety of different types essentially irrespective of the design of the vehicle. In addition, it is an object of the invention to eliminate the need to distinguish between the right and the left side of the vehicle and between the front and the rear load carrier, respectively.
The object of the present invention therefore is to remove the above-mentioned problems.
This object is achieved by imparting to a device of the kind outlined in the introduction the characteristic features defined in claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the device appear from the claims dependent on claim 1.
The present invention concerns a device in a load carrier for vehicles, said load carrier intended for roof-mounting and comprising support members intended to rest against the upper face of the vehicle roof close to the edge thereof, a sheet-metal gripping member disposed in the support member to grip the edge portion of the vehicle roof, and a means arranged to lock the support member and the gripping member in a position, in which said means grippingly engages the associated roof edge portion, said gripping member divided, in a portion of articulation, into at least two parts as seen in the lengthwise extension of the member, said two gripping-member parts being hingedly interconnected in said portion of articulation in overlapping fashion while being separated by means of a spacer element, said spacer element arranged to prevent, in the mounted position of said gripping member, mutual pivotal movements of said gripping member parts about an axis extending essentially in the plane of the vehicle roof in parallel with the direction of travel of the vehicle, the extension of said spacer element in the crosswise direction of said gripping member being short in order to allow relative tilting movements of said gripping member parts while maintaining the spacing between said overlapping gripping member parts that is required to allow said relative tilting movements, a pivot pin being located on a line common to said spacer element and to the lengthwise extension of said gripping member and at right angles to the plane of said gripping member parts.
These characterising features impart to the device the advantage of allowing the support member to be used in a large number of different vehicle models without the associated gripping member having to be exchanged for one that is adapted to the specific vehicle. The articulated gripping member is able to adapt the position of its gripping member part that grippingly engages the roof edge portion, as a result on the one hand of the freedom imparted to it to pivot about the pivot pin and on the other of the freedom imparted to it to tilt about an axis extending along the common line between the pivot pin and the spacer element. Making use of these two degrees of freedom in combination in accordance with the invention produces the result of allowing the position of the conventionally flat gripping member to be adapted to allow said member to grip the roof-edge parts the extension of which deviates from the extension of the vehicle roof. The first one of said two degrees of freedom could without difficulty be given to a flat two-part gripping member made from sheet metal. Normally, however, a complex articulation joint is required to allow relative tilting movements of the gripping-member parts, a feature which in accordance with the present invention instead is obtained by the provision of a spacer element around which the gripping-member parts may tilt relative to one another. The spacer element should be positioned to the side of the pivot pin that ensures that the spacing between the gripping-member parts arises in the mounting position of the gripping member, i.e. that a lever is formed by the gripping-member part that grippingly engages the roof-edge portion between the face of abutment of said part against the pivot pin and its face of abutment against the spacer element.
In the inventive device, the pivot pin could be a rivet. Rivets have the advantage that they do not gradually disengage with wear and therefore do not lose their interconnecting ability.
Preferably, at least one of the heads of the pivot pin is formed with a domed face that is turned towards the gripping member owing to this feature, the pivot pin is able to more readily allow the tilting movement of one gripping-member part relative to the other one when during said movement the domed face slides along the sheet-metal of the gripping-member part.
Preferably also, the spacer element forms at least two protrusions abutting against one of the gripping-member parts. In this manner, two abutment faces are formed preventing the pivotal motion about said axis. The provision of two abutment faces likewise has the advantage of maintaining the spacing between the two gripping-member parts, irrespective of in which direction the gripping-member parts try to pivot relative to one another, an arrangement which facilitates a simultaneous occurrence of the tilting movement.
It is an advantage if the spacer element is formed integrally with one of the gripping-member parts. This means that this component is less expensive to manufacture, since fewer parts are required, and that assembly is facilitated.
It is likewise an advantage if the spacer means forms a ridge, which abuts against one of the gripping-member parts. For example, the spacer element could be a sheet-metal fold formed in either one of the gripping-member parts. This is a simple and therefore inexpensive manner of forming an articulated joint to effect the relative tilting movement of the two gripping-member parts.
The pivot pin advantageously is positioned centrally through the spacer element. This arrangement ensures a symmetric and therefore stable connection.